Zen Office Space Ideas That Take Your Productivity To The Next Level

What is a company? 

At root, it’s nothing more than a collection of people allied in their pursuit of a common goal. For the most part, that goal is selling a product or service, but it can also be the completion of a mission or even something wholly altruistic. 

People - not stuff - therefore, is what drives companies forwards. And the quality of their work directly reflects the success of the company. The better they are at what they do, the faster you can move forwards. 

Companies, therefore, need to focus on creating office spaces that are conducive to work. The more congenial they are to getting into a “flow” state, the more likely people are to be at their best. 

But how do you achieve a sense of flow in a busy office? 

The answer is to use Zen principles.

Zen is the idea that people can be at peace with the universe. It’s actually a very ancient idea - and not well-known in the West - but it can have powerful effects on the mind and body. People working in Zen offices feel calmer and more productive. They’re at their best more often, instead of worrying endlessly about their deadlines.

So how do you create a Zen office and achieve the benefits of this ancient practice? 

Let’s take a look. 

Add A Zen Garden

A Zen garden is supposed to be a place that facilitates meditation - or “emptying of the mind.” But even if you don’t go in for that kind of philosophy, it can still be a place where people achieve peace and bliss. That might sound hard if your office is in the middle of a big city, but a Zen garden doesn’t have to be something literally outside. It can also just be a garden-like space in the office somewhere. 

Ideally, you want a location that reflects the themes of the natural world. Making the colour palette green, for instance, can help a great deal. As can adding sounds or images of birds - something which proven relaxative powers. 

You can also try including water features to create the sound of swooshing, running water in your environment. 

Create Better Lighting

Modern science knows that adding better lighting to offices makes people feel happier and work more productively. Installing the best office lighting you can isn’t about squeezing every last ounce of effort out of your people. Instead, it’s about putting them in a mental state that makes their work effortless. 

We find it hard to imagine doing work without the associated effort. But it is possible. With the right lighting, you can replace tension with ease, and allow people to “flow” according to their potential. 

Improve Your Sound Environment

The noise associated with modern workplaces can be disruptive to individual happiness and fulfilment. Constant conversations, banging and clattering can all make people feel off balance.

Changing the interior noise environment, therefore, can be a great step towards a more Zen environment. You want some conversation. But you also want quiet spaces where people can go away from the noise. 

Sometimes, just piping relaxing sounds into the environment can help. The sound of birds singing or the rush of falling water help to change your colleague’s frame of mind and makes them more attentive to the moment. 

Add A Water Feature

If you wanted, you could go all the way and add a water feature to your office. You regularly see this approach for high-end offices. They’ll include water features in the reception and communal areas to set the tone of the rest of the building. The sound of running water changes your perceptions on a subconscious level, totally changing the way that you feel. 

Adding water features can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. A simple system that recirculates water over pebbles is within the budget of most enterprises.

And it can make a tremendous difference in how people feel about coming to the office. It changes the psychology, making the workplace more like a retreat (or a place of excellence), and less like somewhere to grind away the hours. What a difference that could make to the well-being of your team.

Add Meditation Spaces

All the biggest and most successful companies in the world know that meditation is the key to success. Google and Apple both now provide meditation classes for their employees. 

Meditation, therefore, is something you might want to actively include in your workplace environment. When people feel free to open their minds, their entire approach to work improves. They get a sense of relaxation and everything feels calm. Suddenly, they’re able to achieve a state of “flow.”

So, should you use Zen principles to improve your office space? The overwhelming answer seems to be “yes.” As a group, we forget ancient wisdom at our peril.